Fed Bill Would Create Job Corps for Jobless Vets

A new federal proposal would create a jobs corps for returning veterans including more than 16,000 unemployed veterans in upstate New York.

Sen. Charles Schumer says the proposal would give veterans priority in training for jobs in public works, federal land and water conservation projects and public safety. The training would help veterans land jobs as police officers, firefighters and emergency medical technicians.

The Democrat says the job corps could help address a backlog in maintenance projects on federal land and fill open first-responder jobs.

Nationally more than 20 percent of veterans from 18 to 24 years who served in Afghanistan and Iraq were unemployed.